Deleted Scene from the Gravity Falls episode "The Golf War" where Pacifica basically calls Mabel fat. She takes the insult in the usual good Mabel grace she does by damn...Pacifica...Mabel's no fat baby from those old Maury episodes, lmao.
When we were kids, we were taught to apologize when we've done something wrong. We were taught from childhood that our actions have consequences. All that consists of action and reaction, cause and effect. That no one can or should avoid that. That you have to be brave and admit your mistakes. So that you can correct your mistakes.
But also that the other person does not have to forgive you. That forgiveness takes time. And that a sincere regret is not only expressed in words but especially in a change of behavior. That you have learned from what hurt the other one and that you will do differently from now on. That you can build trust again, but only by changing your behavior. And accept and face the concequences of the things you have done wrong.
That's why I wonder, since when does this not apply to adults? Why doesn't this apply to leaders? Why doesn't this apply to world leaders? Why does this not apply to countries? Why have we forgotten what true values are? When are we going to behave with respect and sympathy for each other?
Some deeds are unforgivable. I get that. And that's okay, you don't have to forgive.
But you must admit your mistakes and be sincere in your apologies including the change of behaviour.
the golf episode in gravity falls isn’t that bad you guys just get so wrapped up in the mYsteRy that you can’t enjoy a fun little episode. Season 1 was full of stuff like this, and Season 1 is AWESOME for that.
Why Pacifica has more character than Wendy (And why that’s one of GF’s biggest issues)
I’ve technically already talked about this. Made a small little post about it way back when that pretty much covered it in one paragraph. But sometimes you feel like expanding on things like that, you know? Besides, It doesn’t really hurt to think about it a little more deeply.
Oh, and if you haven’t seen gravity falls? There will be spoilers here. So, enter if you dare.
It’s no secret to those who know me that Gravity Falls is my favorite show of all time. It’s impact was what “saved” me from the “all new cartoons are bad” mindset, a thought process that plagued many during the cartoon channel dark age at the turn of the decade.
I’d say the only thing I’d actually hate about it is that terrible 3DS game, and even then I don’t dwell on that. However, it does serve as a reminder that like all shows, Gravity Falls doesn’t have a perfect track record. A show can minimize its mistakes, but at the end of the day, it will still end up making them from time to time. Gravity Falls in particular had a few problems of its own, from Dipper’s crush that just kept coming back, to Mabel’s difficult to digest at times childish antics.
But while both of these aspects can be justified, Gravity Falls’ biggest mistake is one that was never addressed or fixed. Which can be a big problem when it’s one of the main characters on your show.
It’s hard not to like the colorful band of characters Gravity Falls brings to the table. Whether it’s Dipper and his nerdy awkwardness, Mabel and her crazy antics, Soos the eccentric handyman, or Con-artist Grunkle Stan, it’s very likely you’ll come to enjoy at least one of them.
But one other character sticks out like a sore thumb, one that manages to share a bit of the spotlight with the other four, even though it feels like she doesn’t really deserve it.
Enter Wendy, the teenage cashier of the mystery shack. Wendy is the “Fonzie” of Gravity Falls, constantly doing awesome actions and saying cool stuff because she’s, well, cool and awesome. She often has sage teenage advice for Mabel or Dipper, handles dangerous situations like a pro, and is the main love interest for Dipper. On the surface, these traits make it seem like Wendy might be an interesting character. The reality however, is the exact opposite.
Let’s be honest with ourselves, Wendy is perhaps the most boring character on the show. Wendy may be cool and collected, but since it ain’t broke, there’s nothing to fix. There’s no emotional conflicts with her, no stories that center around her, and no flaws in her character to make her more interesting. She has little to offer towards anything in the story other than pushing it towards its next destination. Now sure, all characters are technically pushing the story forward at all times. But creators usually make it feel more natural, by having the characters be just the slightest bit complex, thereby making them seem less of an obvious tool.
Had she been a minor character, this wouldn’t have been as much of an issue. But Wendy is a major character, one that appears in the theme song and has been on adventures with the twins more than a few times. Yet constantly the most complex intricacies she displays are that of a wooden board (in fact, the board might have more to offer). She never changes, from the very beginning of the series to the very end. So why even put her up front at all? If she was going to act as more of a minor character, why have her anywhere near the spotlight the main characters have? There’s almost nothing to work with.
It doesn’t help that her only character traits can end up hurting her too. Especially the damn crush. The fact that the biggest things Wendy is involved in also involve Dipper’s crush on her 95% of the time can be extremely frustrating to deal with, way more than it is for Dipper’s character. These cases once make her feel like nothing more than a tool that moves others forward instead of herself.
Though it seems like that wasn’t always meant to be the case. There are inklings here and there, in certain episodes, where it seems like some sort of actual character is trying to explode out of Wendy, like some sort of literary chest-burster. Wendy’s emotions during Boyz Crazy, her feelings of being manipulated by Robbie and being hurt by Dipper’s naive disregard for how she felt, is a episodic-conflict that writes itself. But by the time we reach her in the next episode, it’s brushed off as nothing more than a passing feeling, that needed no follow up. Another two great possibilities to look into Wendy’s character happen within the same episode, Society of the Blind Eye.
Firstly, Wendy talks about to Mabel about her love troubles, where she decides to tell Mabel to forget about guys. Though it is her usual “teenage wisdom”, it presents us with a possible consequence of the numerous ex-boyfriends Wendy has had (as she lists off in Hand that Rocks the Mabel). Has she become disillusioned by dating, or love? Is she far more similar to Mabel than we realized, dreaming of having someone to hold and also reaching a dead end? Hell, is she discovering something about her sexuality?
The second opportunity is perhaps the biggest one, the one everyone remembers. Fearing their minds will be erased, Wendy admits that she’s actually extremely stressed all the time, and that it’s mainly a result of her family. Could it be because she’s the only woman in the house, especially with her mother gone? In fact, what happened to her mother? Could it be the way her father raised her, seeing as how he substituted Christmas with apocalypse survival training? Maybe it’s that she has to look after her brothers while her father is doing god knows what? It would certainly be nice to confirm why she’s always so calm and collected.
All of these possibilities would have worked, and would have helped Wendy’s character immensely. But instead, they too are abandoned, and Wendy is doomed to be as complex as a piece of string until the series ends.
I would also like to mention the rumor I’ve heard on the grapevine- that Wendy was indeed supposed to have an episode based around her, but it was dropped (if I recall correctly, it was because they decided to finish a different episode instead). Though I can’t confirm it, I will say that the “stressed all the time” point is definitely evidence for it.
Things get even worse when actual minor characters end up looking more interesting than Wendy, to the point where characters like Grenda and Robbie, fucking Robbie, are characters who have managed to receive better development within the bits and pieces of a single episode. But none stole Wendy’s potential quite more than Pacifica Northwest.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love Pacifica and what Alex gave her. In fact I admit I support the relationship between the llama and a certain pine tree. But if we are to once again be honest with ourselves, as a two-dimensional mean girl bully character meant only to be an obstacle for Mabel’s goals, Pacifica had far more development than she ever deserved to have.
It’s strange to think that people would latch onto Pacifica, despite her having so little to work with. Perhaps it was the slight lampshade hanging over her, or that her version of the character archetype was so amusing, but people loved her. How much, you ask? Enough to catch Alex by surprise and convince him to make an episode centered around her. It was a strange occurrence, to say the least.
Season 2 began, and by the third episode, we already began getting a taste of Pacifica’s new development, seeing the pressure put on her by her father. But it wasn’t until Northwest Mansion Mystery where Pacifica was fully expanded upon, showing us new twists in her character. She could be rather nice when not obsessed with “looking rich”, she began showing remorse for her foul behavior, and the one thing that stuck with everyone the most- that her parents were very likely abusive. Pacifica’s popularity in the fandom skyrocketed, and she’s been a favorite ever since. People even went so far as to get angry when her character seemingly regressed in the finale, and for some, it’s the only thing in said finale they consider bad.
But Pacifica’s increasing popularity also increased the problem on Wendy’s side. While people were waiting for Pacifica to show up in episodes after, Wendy’s appearances would be received with a more “come and go” attitude. How Wendy would impact the story from here wasn’t anyone’s biggest concern, and any action or appearance she made would be acknowledged, then brushed aside. Meanwhile there were theories a plenty about how Pacifica would become involved later on. It isn’t hard to see why.
It created what I’d like to call the “character paradox”, where Pacifica seemed far more viable as a major character despite being a minor character, while Wendy looked more fit to be a minor character instead of a major one.
However, this also created another problem on Pacifica’s side. A problem similar, but different to Wendy’s. When the series ended, and Pacifica’s only other appearances were cameos and and small bits in the finale, fans became upset that Pacifica didn’t have more time given to her. Things that they wanted Alex to expand upon, like how Pacifica would deal with the bell, her relationship with one or both of the Pines twins, and so on. Alex gave them a bone, not realizing they would be swarming for more. Now admittedly, it is partially the fans’ fault for assuming we would get more out of such a small time character, but that other part has to go somewhere. And unfortunately, Alex and his crew are that somewhere, starving one girl character so much that the fans scrambled for the next best thing.
And why wouldn’t they? There were paths you could explore with Wendy or Pacifica that you just couldn’t do with Mabel. Yes, obvious things like possible romance, but also other aspects, like their families (which would be much different from Mabel, since many of her family problem’s are also Dipper’s), or hell, their possible interactions other characters, or with each other.
But we were cut off on both ends. After everything was said and done, and the series was over, neither character felt complete. We were left with two underdeveloped characters instead of one or two fully developed characters.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the show is bad now, far from it. It’s a big problem, yes, but not enough to make Gravity Falls anything short of amazing. But when it came to this aspect of the show, it certainly does feel like Alex’s priorities were a bit skewed. I think fans would have preferred an episode about either of these two rather than an episode where Dipper learns to not be a womanizing jerk (don’t think we need an entire episode for that).
And hell, it’s not as bad as how much Rebecca keeps Connie from doing after four fucking seasons.
